Yun et al. (2016) The relationship between pH and bacterial communities in a single karst ecosystem and its implications for soil acidification. Frontiers in Microbiology - Extreme Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01955

Dr. Engel, Audrey Paterson, and undergraduates taking GEOL 490 (Field Studies in Coastal Biomes) travelled to San Salvador, The Bahamas, this past month to conduct research for the lucinid chemosymbiosis project. They were joined by collaborator Dr. Laurie Anderson and her students from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Welcome Kenneth Boling and Chantellle Fortier to the lab group this summer! Kenneth is starting his PhD and Chantelle is a MS student.

Feb 2016 - Annette, Audrey, and Brandon attended the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science conference in Tampa, Florida. Also joining them was Dr. Xiaoben Jiang, a new postdoctoral researcher who will join the lab in March.

October 30, 2015 - Congratulations, Kathleen, for successfully defending your dissertation, "Microbial diversity and function within an epigenic cave system and implications for other limestone cave systems"

October 26, 2015 - Congratulations, Walt, for successfully defending your thesis, "Environmental Controls on the Diversity and Distribution of Endosymbionts Associated with Phacoides pectinatus (Bivalvia: Lucinidae) from Shallow Mangrove and Seagrass Sediments, St. Lucie County, Florida."

October 2015 - Congratulations Kathleen! She received best student oral presentation award (tied with another woman) at the International Society on Environmental Biogeochemistry in Piran, Slovenia, for "Evidence for functional niches and dominant carbon utilization pathways in an epigenic cave system prone to nutrient pulses!

July 2015 - Welcome, Brandon, to the lab group! Also, welcome Abby to the group, from earlier this year!

July 2015 - Annette, Audrey, Caleb, and Kathleen attend the National Speleological Society meeting in Waynesville, Missouri; Kathleen and Annette present their work in the biology session

June 2015 - Annette attend the International Karstological School and International Union of Speleology 50th anniversay celebration in Postojna, Slovenia (and participates in several caving expeditions in the area)

May 2015 - Annette visits caves in Tennessee as part of the SERA Cave Carnival, including Zarathustra's Cave (on her bucket list, and one that she will deinitely go back to!)

April 2015 - Annette finished editing a new book, Microbial Life of Cave Systems, which will be released in October 2015; Audrey 1st-authored a chapter with Annette, and Annette authored another chapter

April 2015 - Annette and Audrey go to The Bahamas for field work on the Dimensions project

March 2015 - Annette received the Distinguished Service Award from the Karst Waters Institute at the Annual Awards Banquet, for being the Vice President of Communications for 8 years, webmaster, editor of The Conduit, and also a former Board of Director for the organization since 2005